Isabela's Way

Isabela’s Way is a coming of age tale, set during a dangerous time in early 17th century Portugal, Spain, France and Germany. 14-year-old Isabela, an obedient Catholic girl with a talent for needle work, believes she has nothing to fear from the Inquisition. But when a mysterious woman arrives with a message from Isabela’s traveling father, the girl must leave her home and embroider her way along a clandestine network of sanctuaries created to conduct Conversos, or secret Jews, to safety. 

A host of supporters, as well as one special young man, assist Isabela as she eludes the Inquisitors and makes her way across countries and cultures. She learns of the danger and importance of her secret work, with its coded symbols, and is shocked to discover her family’s true origins. Isabela’s Way explores the magic of a young adult overcoming peril and challenge, as one hidden circumstance after another is revealed.  

Barbara Stark-Nemon weaves a beautiful tapestry of stories, as elegantly embroidered as the linens that Isabela weaves. Reminiscent of Rachel Kadish's The Weight of Ink, Isabela's Way is a meticulously researched and elegantly written novel of secret histories, fierce determination and ultimately love. – Mary Morris, author of Gateway to the Moon

Isabela's Way powerfully evokes the era of the Inquisition in Portugal and the courage of the conversos who lived between faiths as they risked their lives to make their way to freedom. Both informative and deeply moving, this is a book that makes a lasting contribution to Sephardic literature.

--Ruth Behar, author of Across So Many Seas